Feature: A last salute to the frontline support forces

Alongside the veterans who fought in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the sons and daughters of fallen soldiers, veterans of Zhiqian Mingong (ZM), the frontline support forces, will also appear in the military parade to mark the victory in Beijing on Sept. 3.

During the war, ZM worked day and night taking grain, ammunition and other supplies to the frontline, evacuating the wounded and guarding captives. Thousands of ZM troops assisted the Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army, playing a significant role in the war.

Zhao Jinying, 90, of Fuping County, Hebei Province, is a ZM veteran who will appear in the parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of victory.

"At such an age, I'm honored and pleased to join the parade," said Zhao, who was awarded the title of "Model Worker of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border area" in 1945.

When Zhao was 10 years old, she stood watch and carried messages with a feather attached as a sign of urgency. "Often I had to run for five or 10 kilometers with a message. It was hidden in my shoes. If I was caught by Japanese, I would pretend I was mute," Zhao recalled.

She joined the Communist Party of China at the age of 14. "We buried mines in the daytime, and held meetings at night, discussing how to cover the Eighth Route Army, how to save the wounded. My parents had no idea of when and where I joined the Party, and they kept saying their 'little girl' was always away from home," she said.

"I was not afraid of dying or starving. I was not afraid of anything. I wanted to be an 'iron' Party member and struggle for the cause of communism."

Zhao's elder daughter, Gao Xiuying, 67, says her mother had stayed in a health clinic for 20 days -- a special treat for veterans. "The doctors from Hebei Provincial Military Area Command gave her a checkup and found nothing wrong, but a bit of forgetfulness," said Gao, a farmer, who accompanied her mother so she could attend the parade.

"I already forget what I ate for my breakfast. My brain doesn't work well," Zhao said, pointing to her head with her trembling right hand.

However, her memories of the war remain fresh.

"At the beginning, we just covered the soldiers while they buried mines. Later, we women and kids began to bury mines too as the men in the village had all gone to the frontline. In order to hide the mines, we left horse prints and footprints where they were buried. The mines killed many Japanese," Zhao said.

"My mum told me that when burying mines, you laid them in a zigzag so Japanese wouldn't easily spot them. When the Japanese left the village, you had to dig up the rest of the mines so villagers wouldn't be hurt," Gao added.

Zhao was no more than 1.6-meters tall, but smart and agile. "Our village is on the border of Fuping County and Xingtang County. If the Japanese came from the east, my mum would light a fire on the east side of a hill so villagers would know they should run westwards to hide and vice versa."

Zhao recalled helping Chinese troops to hide. "As long as we received warning, we would hide soldiers in a cave. We covered most parts of the cave with stones and left only a little hole to deliver food."

At that time, every family was obliged to take care of the wounded. "They ate what we ate. We told them to play dumb and only use gestures if the Japanese came. Soldiers came from all corners of China, so their accents differed a lot," Zhao said.

Soldiers fighting a guerrilla campaign in forests and mountains required constant supplies. They were often short of shoes, socks and uniforms.

"Many soldiers' shoes were so worn they were practically walking barefoot," Zhao said.

"My mum often carried rice, flour and corn cakes to the frontline. Once she carried 50 kilos of grain," Gao said.

She also organized the women's national salvation society in the village. "Later I was in charge of the society for 30 years," Zhao said.

Zhao still trembles to think of the Japanese army's atrocities.

"From 1935 to 1945, they came to Fuping for one or two months every year. On one Mid-Autumn Day when the grain was being harvested, they caught my uncle and questioned him about the yield. My uncle had hidden the grain from the Japanese. They were so angry, they killed him on the spot. I also saw them cut one kid's belly with a blade. They killed the innocent, burned houses and did evil things."

Zhao remembers constant fear, but she is focusing on the parade day when she will wear the commemoration medal and a uniform and ride in a minibus through Tian'anmen Square: "The parade is to remind us that peace doesn't come easy. We don't bully others and will not allow others to bully us."

For Zhao and other aged veterans, this parade is likely to be their last salute. Zhao has one wish: "My husband was also a ZM veteran, but he died at the age of 87 a few years ago. I want to share this national honor with him." Endi